Little Shop of Homicide

This is another book cover that I illustrated recently for the excellent people at Penguin books. The book is called Little Shop of Homicide, and is the first in the new Devereaux’s Dime Store Mystery series by Denise Swanson. Ms. Swanson is the New York Times best-selling author of the very successful Scumble River mystery series, so it was extra exciting to be a part of the Devereaux debut! Here’s the premise of the book (from Denise Swanson’s website):

“Devereaux Sinclair is the happy new owner of the adorable old-fashioned shop in her small Missouri town. But when a revenge-crazed cop accuses Dev of murdering her ex’s fiancée — and the murder weapon is found with her fingerprints all over it — Dev’s store, and her life, quickly turn from charmed to troubled. If she doesn’t find the real killer soon, this five-and-dime owner will be serving twenty-five to life…”

It was fun to develop the look of Devereaux and capture the small-town feel of her dime store in the illustration. The book just came out this month, and if you’re a mystery fan like me, you should give it a read! (You can order it on Amazon, here.) Thanks to Elizabeth Phillips for the great art direction!

Hello!

I’m professional illustrator Anni Betts. I create vibrant, cheerful drawings for books, magazines, advertising, greeting cards, and more. I love making the world a more colorful place, and specialize in drawing animals, plants, people, and lettering. Originally from Illinois, I now live in the UK in the historic city of Durham, England.